Running thoughts

తాటి ముంజులు ....

2011-05-08T04:54:00.000-07:00

మొన్న తాటి ముంజులూ శీతల పెట్టి లో పెట్టి పంచదార చల్లుకొని తిన్నాను అని మొహం పుస్తకం లో పెట్టాను. చాల మంది "నచ్చలేదు" అని "నొక్కి" మరి చెప్పారు. ఇవాళ ఇంకో ఘనకార్యం చేసాను, జీవితం లో ఇంతకూ ముందు ఎప్పుడు చెయ్యనది. మూడు రోజులు క్రితం నా సహోద్యోగి, తాటి కాయలు ఉన్నాయి తీసుకుంటారా అని అడిగాడు. నేనుఎప్పుడు "తినడం" తప్ప "వలవ లేదు" ఇంకా అతి పెద్ద పని ఏమిచేసాను అనుకుంటే, వాటి తో చేసిన బండి తో ఆ కాలం నాటి "స్కూటీ" లా ఆడాను అని అన్నా. అబ్బే అదేమీ పెద్ద పని కాదండి, "buthcer " కత్తి ఉంటె సులభమే , లేదు అంటే పళ్ళు ఉన్న కత్తితో బంగాళా దుంప చిప్స్ లా చేక్కేయండి అని సలహా ఇచ్చాడు ఆయన. ఇదేదో బావుంది అని చెప్పి, ఓ పదిహేనో, పదహారో కాయలు ఉంటాయి అనుకుంటా, కారులో బస్తా వేయించుకుని ఇంటికి తెచ్చా.

"ఆహా", "ఓహో" అని ఇంట్లోనించి ధ్వని తరంగాలు వచ్చాయి, కాని ఇంట్లో కూరలు కోసే కత్తి తప్ప వేరే "ఆయుధం" లేదు అని అనుమానం వచ్చింది. శ్రీమతి ని అడిగితే మనం "ఒమిరికా" నించి వచ్చినప్పడు కొన్ని కత్తుర్లు
కటార్లు పట్టు కొచ్చాము కదా, ఉన్నాయేమో చూస్తాను అంది. వెదికితే దొరికాయి. ఒక 12 రకాలవి. అన్నిటికి "పళ్ళు" ఉన్నాయి, కాస్త సినిమా స్టైల్ లో వాటి వంక చూసి, ఒక బలమైన పట్టు ఉన్న దానిని తీసా. మొదటి కాయ కొయ్యడానికి సుమారుగా 4 నిమషాలు పట్టింది. పది ml చెమట కూడా పట్టింది. ఆ తరువాత పదమూడో ది కొయ్యడానికి 40 సెకనులు పట్టింది. ఆఖరి దానిలో ముంజు, ముంజు లా కొంచం చెక్కుకు పోయింది తీస్తే, మొదటిది కోసినప్పుడు వచ్చిన గుజ్జు ఎలా ఉంటాడో ఊహించ గలరు. గణితం ప్రకారం "inversely proportional " అని తేలింది. ఒకటి కి రెండు సార్లు చేస్తే ఏది అయినా సాధ్యమే అని మనసులో అనుకున్నాను.

కొండ ని తవ్వు ఎలుక ని పట్టు అన్నట్లు, ఆ బస్తా కాయలు అన్ని వలిస్తే, ఒక చిన్న బౌల్ లోకి సరిపడే అంత వచ్చాయి, ముంజులు. చెత్త మాత్రం ఒక వారం చేసే పచారి సామానం పట్టేటి అంత ప్లాస్టిక్ బ్యాగ్గు లో వచ్చింది. పాపం రోడ్డు మీద అమ్మే వాళ్ళు ఎంత కాస్త పడితే ఒక ముంజు బుట్ట లోకి వస్తుంది....

"మొన్న తాటి ముంజులూ శీతల పెట్టి లో పెట్టి పంచదార చల్లుకొని తిన్నాను అని మొహం పుస్తకం లో పెట్టాను.".... ఇది మళ్ళా రాయాలి అంటే ఇక్కడ తో ఆపేసి, "fridge " దగరకి వెళ్ళాలి .... ... సశేషం

firefox - no image loading phew !

2010-08-13T02:22:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I have to delete some stuff from my PC and unfortunately during that process my firefox setup was reset. i.e. when I opened it it behaved as if I am opening it first time. During this process, I could see some images are not being loaded properly. Especially flickr.com On the same page some get loaded and some do not. After searching on google found out following steps, which fixed the issue.

* In the browser bar, type about:config
* Go to the property permissions.default.image, set the value 0, irrespective of whatever value present
* Close the browser, re-start. Browse couple of pages and reset the value to 1 in the above method.
* Now close the browser again and re-start, this fixed the issue.

cheers

Halo 22

2010-08-09T09:22:00.001-07:00

Halo 22, originally uploaded by $udhakar.

Rare sighting in Hyderabad. Taken by Sudha

l.yimg.com

2010-08-09T05:39:00.000-07:00

Recently after flickr updated their interface, during the beta run as well after live, I had problems about some buttons not working. e.g. Actions, all sizes etc. I use firefox( 3.6.8), chrome(whichever is latest build) as well as IE8. This used to not work in any browser. After multiple iterations of research, found that the relevant information to run javascript for this is taken from l.yimg.com. If you leave first window after loading for sometime till all objects are downloaded from l.yimg.com, then they will be in cache and they work fine. But if you click fast before loading full page, it may not work.

There are numerous complaints about l.yimg.com server slowness.

cheers

Minerva Coffee Shop @ Road No. 36, Jubilee Hills

2010-08-04T21:39:00.000-07:00

Well, mood came in to write some thing and here you go....

Last weekend while driving from city during dinner time, family is discussing on what kind of food to have and where to go. Obviously when we are four sitting in car, four choices pop up and nothing will be decided immediately. Typical family drama. Just after crossing Jubilee hills check post, I did see median hoardings about this new joint Minerva Coffee Shop saying "We are open at Road no. 36". My son also immediately got attention of the Brahmin caricature on the hoardings. He like it too.. :-) Immediately I proposed and we took a U turn in the next available median. I visited the same chain couple of times in Ameerpet and my expectations are quite positive.

It seems like a home is converted in to restaurant and only 4 car slots are available in front of that "home". Valet parking is available and those guys are pretty active and available in huge numbers and there is a coordinator to take care of the rush. We already saw some people waiting outside for seating and have been thinking about decision we made. One point is Sunday evening most family outing for everybody and another reason I could feel was due to Friendship day. Took a chance and inquired about waiting time and he asked my name and replied saying "you are just 4th person in queue"

I had put my grinned face one more time and asked him again, How much time it will take irrespective of my token number? he replied 15-20 minutes. There is a open area with chairs and we sat along with other folks. As usual more than 50% of the crowd are hanging with their mobile phones and what they speak on phone and their facial expressions and their presence is totally out of sync. A waiter brought a try full of glasses filled with cold water. A good gesture for waiting customers. Liked it there.

After 15 min or so, we got a call to come in. So called Minerva coffee shop-house-converted-restaurant was neatly decorated but all tables are scattered across different rooms. I would say 2-3 tables in each room based on room size. Here also I do see lot of staff to cater. Pretty agile and quick in service even during that peak hours.

For the sake of kids choice, we went for some chinese option, hot and sour soup, some soft noodles, schezwan noodles and manchuria. Manchuria is fine but schezwan noodles are as crappy as at max I can think off. Chilli sauce is mixed with regular soft noodles. The soup is very diluted. At the end I recollected my oath earlier I took and disobeying it again. "Never eat Chinese food in south Indian Restaurants". I swear again, do not do it again. Kids might have enjoyed the dinner because food was their choice but we did not like it.

Over All

Service 8/10
Food 5/10
Ambiance 8/10
Will I go again - No

Peek A Boo

2010-06-27T09:58:00.001-07:00

Peek A Boo, originally uploaded by $udhakar.

It has been long time since I blogged a flicker photo. :-)

BSNL బాధలు

2009-11-08T22:19:00.000-08:00

I am having BSNL broadband issues and I am jotting down my interaction with them in this blog now onwards.

7-NOV-09
Lot of noise in the line and attenuation is very high. Unless I switch on phone too, I can't connect to broadband. This method also depends on luck. Only 20% choice. I raised a complaint with BSNL 1500 Swagatam services on 7th November 2009. Complaint no. 11060618639
10-NOV-09 4:30 p.m.
Called up to follow. Fortunately the customer rep is far better than expected standard from BSNL. He queried "No body turned up since 7th?" "Not even called you?". Then I made sure that I called them for followup and he should log the same against incident. He assured and somebody will attend on tomorrow. Fingers crossed again.
12-NOV-09 9:30 p.m.
Called again after two days. Status OPEN. Exchange people responded to call complaint that they are checking the line. If I need to know more information, I need to call 197 number and find out JTO's telephone number and I should talk to him/her :-)
13-NOV-09 1:00 p.m.
BSNL technical person Mr. Raghunandan from Gachibowli (who in fact installed my set while took the Broad band connection) called up. Again same story started to explain and he started asking me to check the modem lights, modem settings etc. Finally I was able to explain that it is the issue with disturbance and SNR value is very low and Attenuation is very high > 45 most of the time. He wanted to make sure that no port related issues or exchange related issue before sending out technician on ground to verify the physical wires at different junction boxes between exchange and home.
16-NOV-09 1:00 p.m.
Obviously some coordination required when a person is planning to visit home. This ground technician Sattiah called and tried to tell us that he came and no body at home. Typical first excuse that they already made an effort. I fixed an appointment at 2:30 p.m on 16th Nov 2009. I called him at 2:25 p.m. and said that I am at home(drove from office for this purpose). No turn of this person till 3:30 p.m. and when I called and the answer is "I will be there in 10 minutes". I had change my voice and give him some lecture about my work /boss and his work/boss are same as far as office is concerned. He promptly came in 10 minutes. Now he was asked to check line has disturbance or not. He says, telephone is working. It is tough to explain this guy about broadband, ADSL, SNR and attenuation because he is not familiar with this. Only point he made is, lights are glowing so it should work. I called Raghunandan to explain, and he pointed to Sattiah that disturbance should not be there. He verified wall level wires etc and found out the initial point and did some cuts and joins again. Asked me to verify and definitely I could hear no change in the dolby digital noise from the line. He will be checking various lines from home to exchange in reverse order.
17-NOV-09 12:30 p.m.
Since last night i.e. 16th Nov 2009, Internet connection at Home is gone. Earlier I had 10% chances and now it is totally gone. The green light on modem which indicates "Internet" is gone. Unfortunately, the technician who came and verified the ports at home at two different places, the caps (crabtree switches) are gone and they are loosely fitted to just hold on. I was there but not sure when he just pressed forcefully. Pathetic feeling to get after seeing them damaged. Coming back to connection issue, today morning I called the same technician to find out the status and he identified there is a port issue and today they are going to replace the port. Keeping fingers crossed again.
18-NOV-09 12:44 p.m.
Both broadband and phone lines are dead since 17-NOV-09 afternoon. Reason, some digging at Gachibowli Y junction for flyover and whole network on Gachibowli side is gone. As usual, can't contact or no body lifts the phone if you call Gachibowli exchange. Raised a complaint for dead phone 11075537682
19-NOV-09 4:21 p.m.
Today morning by the time I woke up, telephone lines are restored and land line is working and was able to connect to internet but it was slow process and noise is still there.
20-NOV-09 11:40 a.m.
Called up Mr. Raghunandan. They are still busy with Gachibowli Y junction dug up. He promised he will verify the disturbance issue.
22-NOV-09 9:00 p.m
Called up customer service desk again as I could not connect at all. The probability of getting connected dropped from 5% to 1% or zero percent. I ask the CR to enter that I am filing a case in consumer court and he tried to evade the conversation and promised that he will escalate. I made sure that his team lead came in to call to discuss as this fellow does not want to enter additional comments. To my surprise, team leader says, that their customer support system will not allow any kind of additional information or updating facility once the ticket has been risen. Isn't it weird? After couple of persuasions and serious notes, he said that he can't do anything to the ticket. I had to hung up helplessly.
23-NOV-09 Monday 10:00 a.m
Visited Gachibowli exchange to meet folks and no person is there around and only line men are there and they do not know anything about who comes when. They suggested me to call JTO.
24-NOV-09 Tuesday
I tried to reach since Monday morning till now (Tuesday) evening and and both Satyanarayana (JTO) and Raghunandam are not picking up of the phones even when I called from my home (such that they can identify by location / caller ID).
27-NOV-09 Friday 10:00 a.m.
Since morning the telephones and broadband are totally down. Will wait for half a day before rising a complaint.
01-DEC-09 Tuesday 12:05 p.m.
For the last few days, things are going smooth and was able to connect to Internet with out any trial and errors. One thing I did was kept the modem on for 24 hours after first successful connect. Hoping for the best in future and giving a break for this write up till I find another issue with BSNL. :-)))

Thats it, you are grounded......

2009-08-31T22:06:00.001-07:00

Thats it, you are grounded......, originally uploaded by $udhakar.

My collection of cameras and lenses. Click on the picture to read the story.

Mup.sys

2009-07-08T21:57:00.001-07:00

Ran in to mup.sys problem again after a long time on my home PC (Windows XP). Tried 1st attempt of cold boot via install CD and CHKDSK running. It got booted normally later. But today morning it again hanged. Need to try one more attempt.

Time to ditch old PC. Can you believe it that my PC hard disk capacity is 6gb? Now a days normal PEN drives have that capacity. LOL. I am also looking for eco friendly desktops. Dell Hybrid model is pretty expensive. Liked the specs of ASUS eee Box B204 model. I may need to buy external optical drive. Not yet decided.

Stardust

2009-05-20T01:08:00.000-07:00

Saw Stardust movie yesterday. It was fun and reminded me childhood fantasy stories. King, witch, magic spells, unimaginable transformations, castles and curiosity to see till the end. Very nice landscapes scenes for photographers like me. Only actors I could recognize are Robert De Niro and a lady from Desparate Housewives soap. I guess it is needed sometimes to travel to fantasy world revisit back to reality to understand that life is life and reality is reality. Movies do make you happy.

నక్షత్రదుమ్ము లేక నక్షత్రపొడి లెదా ఇంకా ఏదైనా పేరు ఉందా అని కొంచం సేపు ఆలోచించాలసి వచ్చింది. చిన్నప్పుడు చందమామ కధలు గుర్తుకు వచ్చాయి. రాజు గారు, ఏడుగురు కొడుకులు, మంత్రగత్తెలు, మంత్రాలు మనుషులు చిలకల గా ఉడుతులుగా మారిపోవడం బలే ఉందిలే. ఓ రెండు గంటలు పాటు అలా అలా ఎక్కడకో వెళ్ళి రావచ్చు. అక్కడ అక్కడ కొంచం పిల్లలని భయపెట్టే లాంటి సన్నివేశాలు ఉన్నా, పిల్లలకి నచ్చుతాది. (మన తెలుగు సినిమాలలో ఉన్న హింస కన్న కొంచం మంచిదే అని చెప్పచ్చు).

Another sunset

2009-04-14T02:36:00.001-07:00

Another sunset, originally uploaded by $udhakar.

Swimming - Gachibowli stadium

2009-04-01T02:06:00.000-07:00

It so happened that we decided to enroll kids in Gachibowli Stadium for swimming. Came to know that they will give applications on 1st April in the early morning and we were also warned that crowd will be there. I was mentally prepared for this and made kids excited about their summer fun.

Elder one is in very good mood and he asked for alarm and I set it for him. Obviously he did not getup and I woke up him when I was ready to go. By 6 a.m. sharp we were there and regular visitors are already there. The coach cum admin cum pseudo "I own this stadium" employee simply said, come at 8 a.m. for application. For all other questions, he pointed me to a wall to go and read whatever I could.

Returned home and freshened and had break fast and went again to the stadium. To my shock, at the main entrance there were numerous bikes and cars with full accelerator on and buzzing. Then I recollected the warning "crowd will be there". The moment security opened the gate, guys zipped through till the swimming pool area. It is like mad race. There it was another hurdle; the doors are locked and whole crowd is grouped there. Security folks came out and started distributed token numbers and junta attacked them. With the kids it was tough and there were some ladies who could not reach for these tokens. It is all part of the game I think. Later I understood that they will give 150 tokens and all those get tokens are assured of admission. Only catch is that you need to submit medical certificate that and identify proof. For kids, it is birth certificate to prove the age.

The whole mechanism is pretty chaos and it could be better system. There were about six to seven security guards who are blowing whistles and not doing any thing. And also need to blame on the whole crowd who are all educated and do not want to stand in a line.

I think, culture gives you some common sense and not education.

Anyways, need to go again tomorrow to submit the application

2009-03-22T20:37:00.000-07:00

It is very rare that I quickly support any government decision. Today I felt like, with out any doubt I am supporting Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra governments for their clear stand and NOT providing security for IPL. Elections are important not cricket. Let IPL guys go abroad or Mars to conduct. Most of us anyway watch them on TV only. Anywhere in the world also, our sponsers spend money and TV ads will flow any way.

Good job AP and Maharastra governments on this.

Philips HTS3565/98 - Enable region free

2009-01-26T05:59:00.000-08:00

During deepavali (Diwali) 2008 time frame I bought Philips HTS3565/98 Home theatre in a box system. It includes DVD player & 5.1 speaker system. I played different options available on the system like DTS (Audio), USB, VCD, photoCD, CD-R etc formats. However I assumed DVD will anyway play and did not bother to run the disk. But when I tried to play Casino Royal bond movie, it shouted at me saying wrong region code. Also tried another DVD and this one also resulted negative. When I verified the setup specs, to my surprise the region code set was 3 which is Asia Pacific region code. Looks like Philips India imports from these countries and sells in India with out modifying the region code. India falls under region code 5.

This triggered research for region free setup on this Philips system or look for a hack. Initially found a hack recommending, open the tray, press STOP and enter 734466. But it did not work. I called up Philips India support and they gave local number. When I called local number, they gave quick number and some instructions. It did not work. Next day, I have to call again and bring in technician and walk through each step. I am listing this again for your information. This will bring the system into all region i.e. 0 (Zero).

1. Operate the DVD palyer in disc mode

2. Open the tray by pressing open/close button

3. Go to OPTIONS and and go to preferences area. (other areas include Audio, Video etc)

4. Enter 99990 (nine nine nine nine zero)

5. You should see Region 0. If this does not appear, follow further steps

6. Press OPTIONS again such that you do not see anything on the screen except for OPEN word on top.

7. Now press same code 99990. You should see Region 0 on the screen.

8. You are all set to play all region dvds

It is unfair from Philips India aspect to sell wrong region code players in India. Those who are not familiar with region code concpet, may think that player is not working and loose impression on Philips

nannupilavanDi

2009-01-06T19:43:00.000-08:00

If you are living in the white areas of below map. Please do invite me. I also do not mind invitations from red marked areas.

Looks like I need to see lot more things in India too

visited 10 states (28.5%)
Create your own visited map of India or try another Douwe Osinga project

రాజీవ్ దగ్గరకి వెళ్ళాలంటే.......

2008-12-09T01:53:00.001-08:00

రాజీవ్ దగ్గరకి వెళ్ళాలంటే......., originally uploaded by $udhakar.

రాజీవ్ దగ్గరకి వెళ్ళాలంటే.......

..................వాళ్ళ తాతని పట్టుకుంటే చాలు. (The new express way started two weeks ago which connects from hi-tech (Gachibowli) area to to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. It is named as Nehru outer ring road). What I liked in this picture is nice evening light on buildings and low level composition.

గతవారం దీని మీద ప్రయాణించాను. ఇంకా చాలా పనులు ఉన్నాయి కాని, నాకు నచ్చింది. ఒమిరెకాలోని డ్రైవింగ్ గుర్తుకు వచ్చింది. ఇంకా మధ్యలో bridges అవి అవ్వలేదు. Intersections దగ్గర ఒక ramp దిగి ఇంకో ramp ఎక్కాలిసి ఉంటుంది. నాలుగు లైనులు మాత్రం ఇప్పుడు వదిలారు, అదే చాల వెడల్పు గా అనిపించింది. మిగతా నాలుగు కూడా మొదలు అయితే, జనాలు 110 తక్కువు వెళ్ళరు.

విమానాశ్రయం (శంషాబాద్ దగ్గర) కి వెళ్ళె దారి రెండు పక్కలా బాగా పూల మొక్కలు అవి నాటి బాగా తయారుచేసారు. నాకు ఎందుకో సింగపూర్, కౌలాలంపూర్, విమానాశ్రాయలకి వెళ్ళినప్పటి జ్నాపకాలు గుర్తుకు వచ్చాయి.

చందమామ

2008-09-05T01:24:00.001-07:00

చందమామ, originally uploaded by $udhakar.

చందమామ

చందమామ రావే,
జాబిల్లి రావే,
కొండెక్కి రావే,
కోటి పూలు తేవే

HUDA --> HMDA

2008-08-24T22:17:00.003-07:00

HUDA --> HMDA, originally uploaded by $udhakar.

HUDA (Hyderabad Urban Development Authority) becomes now HMDA (Hyderabad Metro Development Authority).

Hyderabad is fast growing and this move is to bring in some our outskirts villages and areas to Hyderabad Metro area. It is long way to get proper infrastructure and facilities though things have improved a lot over last few years. It is a constant change (an oxymoron). Traffic is still a mess.

Above is a typical scene in Hyderabad city buses during peak or non peak hours. I believe, most of the India metros have same situation.

Jingle bells

2008-08-24T22:17:00.001-07:00

Jingle bells, originally uploaded by $udhakar.

These kids rushed towards me and requested for a picture. I made them to sit and the youngest one is shy and not willing to smile. I told, if she does not smile, no photo. Eldest one took responsibility of making youngest smile.

They giggled and shouted towards their dad about the photograph and insisted me to show to him. They made me to take another shot with their dad.

Happiness is everywhere, it is you who can find it easily.

For sure smiles do not fade even on large black drop

Bougainvillea

2008-08-12T01:38:00.003-07:00

, originally uploaded by $udhakar.

Sail Away!

2008-08-12T01:38:00.001-07:00

Sail Away!, originally uploaded by $udhakar.

Lake Tahoe, California. Original shot from film era.

Olympics and 08-08-08

2008-08-12T01:37:00.001-07:00

Olympics and 08-08-08, originally uploaded by $udhakar.

Light painting...........

My contribution to Olympics. Wishing all participants good luck.

TGIF!

2008-07-24T21:23:00.001-07:00

TGIF!, originally uploaded by $udhakar.

Dream Home

2008-07-23T23:39:00.001-07:00

Dream Home, originally uploaded by $udhakar.

Oregon, Portland Columbia Gorge scenic highway is one of my favorite routes and any time is favorite time to go in this route. This house is pretty close to one of the parking places near water falls.

Wish I could live there for some time at least :-)

Smiley

2008-07-22T21:06:00.001-07:00

Smiley, originally uploaded by $udhakar.

I suck at Foosball board. Full stop.

Crater lake, Oregon, USA

2008-07-20T21:40:00.001-07:00

Crater lake, Oregon, USA, originally uploaded by $udhakar.

క్రేటర్ లేక్, అమెరికా లో ఓరిగన్ రాష్ట్రం లో ఉంది. అగ్నిపర్వతం బద్దలయ్యాక ఏర్పడిన సరస్సు ఇది. చాలా స్వచ్చమైన నీరు అట. నీళ్ళు ఎక్కువ నీలం గా ఉండడానికి కారణం లోతు వలనట.

The Loner

2008-07-18T01:46:00.001-07:00

, originally uploaded by $udhakar.

More or less the best birdy shot I have taken.

Location : Kakinada, vakalapudi Beach; Bay of Bengal

The Benches

2007-08-06T05:03:00.003-07:00

The Benches, originally uploaded by Chandamama.

From my pre digital collection. Taken with Pentax Z20. Added soft focus and tint(sky).

I do not remember the lake name but it is in Hillsboro, Oregon, USA

Rhythm of life

2007-08-06T05:03:00.001-07:00

Rhythm of life, originally uploaded by Chandamama.

Just like that

2007-07-11T21:34:00.001-07:00

Just like that, originally uploaded by chandamama.

Nature is always beautiful. Stability, balance, beauty .........

Bridge over Godvari

2007-06-28T22:57:00.001-07:00

Bridge over Godvari, originally uploaded by chandamama.

New bridge over River Godavari.

Spider vs spiderman

2007-06-21T03:48:00.001-07:00

Spider vs spiderman, originally uploaded by chandamama.

Not a good weekly start for me this Monday at work. Playing with photoshop to ease my tensions :-)

Congress Pylon

2007-06-21T03:47:00.003-07:00

Congress Pylon, originally uploaded by chandamama.

Congress Pylon was erected during plenary meetings held last year. This is at Rethibowli junction at Mehdipatnam, Hyderabad. Green and white are from original shot. Orange tint added by Picasa.

Heading home

2007-06-21T03:47:00.001-07:00

Heading home, originally uploaded by chandamama.

I feel like going there every weekend. Last shot in my Godavari trip series. I have some other boat oriented shots (will upload later). One of the memorable vacations I had in my life.

Charminar ka ek minar

2007-06-15T00:22:00.001-07:00

Charminar ka ek minar, originally uploaded by chandamama.

Charminar (wiki link) is one of the oldest monuments in Andhra Pradesh, India. Another shot of the same here

Bamboo Flower

2007-06-13T23:48:00.001-07:00

Bamboo Flower, originally uploaded by chandamama.

Hyderabad welcomes monsoon

2007-06-11T21:43:00.001-07:00

Hyderabad welcomes monsoon, originally uploaded by chandamama.

Hyderabad is ready for monsoon. While going home on 4th June, I had to pull over the car after seeing this beauty of dark clouds. Initially I thought this electric tower will give hindrance but it gave different feeling to the picture. Adjusted saturation and sharpness in Picasa.

God save me (from litter)

2007-06-11T21:34:00.001-07:00

God save me (from litter), originally uploaded by chandamama.

Saw these idols in the beach (Vakalapudi, Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, India). Different idols are spread across in the beach front and they looked great but the litter surrounding them made me uncomfortable. Those come to beach leaving all their junk there are irresponsible. I am not sure which GOD do they (these idols) pray.

Hyderabad welcomes monsoon

2007-06-08T06:05:00.001-07:00

Hyderabad welcomes monsoon, originally uploaded by chandamama.

Wickets

2007-06-07T01:21:00.001-07:00

Wickets, originally uploaded by chandamama.

Wickets !!

India really need big wickets to get their image back in world of cricket.

My Models

2007-06-04T21:49:00.001-07:00

My Models, originally uploaded by chandamama.

My models during recent trip. They are so innocent and cheerful. I guess, they are getting familiar with technical stuff too. Immediately after I took the picture, they rushed towards me and asked me to show the picture in preview mode. Once they have seen their faces in picture, smiles and giggles on their faces are price less.

Behind them was a huge tree with roots deep in to the land. Reminded me childhood stories. (బేతాళ కథలు)

Calm

2007-06-03T21:27:00.001-07:00

Calm, originally uploaded by chandamama.

Godavari river is pretty calm at this gorge. In monsoon season and during flooding, it roars like lion. This particular location is called 'paapi kondalu" (పాపికొండలు) and narrowest during the river's journey.

I made this boat trip this year because, either end of this year or next year, Polavaram project starts which will immerse all this beauty and near by villages. It is unfortunate to think, that this gets flooded after project however, it helps lot of farmers to get ample water supply for their crops. One gains and other looses. If you live close by or visiting this place, please have a spare day and make trip.

హై లెస్సా - హై లెస్సా

2007-05-30T03:54:00.001-07:00

హై లెస్సా - హై లెస్సా, originally uploaded by chandamama.

గోదావరి అందాలు ఎంత చూసినా తనివి తీరదు. చెప్పడం కన్నా, అనుభవించి తీరాలి. వీలు చూసుకొని ఒకసారి వెళ్ళిరండి.

Summer Time

2007-05-28T05:24:00.001-07:00

Summer Time, originally uploaded by chandamama.

Who will resist swimming in water when the temperature outside is soaring. It is fun to swim in rivers and canals. Poor man's swimming kit... lorry (truck) tube used for floating.

Flickr

2007-05-28T05:16:00.001-07:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

2007-05-14T01:13:00.000-07:00

2007-02-13T01:21:00.000-08:00

Happy sankraanti !!

2006-12-08T01:55:00.000-08:00

సంక్రాంతి అనే కన్నా "పెద్ద పండుగ" అనడం అలవాటు ఇంట్లో. ఇది పెద్ద వాళ్ళకి "పెద్ద" ఖర్చు పెట్టెంచే పండుగ కనుక ఆ పేరు వచ్చింది అంటాను నేను. ఇంటిల్లి పాదికి కొత్త బట్టలు, ఒక జత కాదు, రేండేసి లేక మూడేసి ఒక్కోసారి. దానాలు, పూజలు, పునస్కారాలు ఎలాగూ ఉంటాయే. దశమ గ్రహాలు ఉంటే, ఇంకా మంచి బట్టలు పెట్టాలి. ఇవి కాక "సరదా" పేకాట లో డబ్బులు పొతే అది కూడా ఖర్చే కదా!!

తలుచుకుంటే రధం ముగ్గుల దగ్గర నించి ముక్కునమ నాడు సత్తెమ్మ తల్లి సంబరం వరకు గుర్తుకు వస్తాయి. ఇంకా కొంచం ప్రయత్నంస్తే ఒక్కో సారి పండుగ తరువాత వచ్చే Half Yearly పరీక్షలు ఏడుపు తెప్పిస్తాయి కూడా.

చిన్ని చిన్ని సందులు మొదట్లో కాపలా కాసి, అక్కలు, అమ్మలక్కలు రధం ముగ్గులు వేస్తుంటే వాటికి వింత వింత పేర్లు పెట్టే విషయం రాయనా, లేక భోగి మంటకి రిక్షా వాళ్ళు డబ్బులు అడగాడానికి వస్తే, ఈ సారి ఎంత పెద్ద మంట వేస్తారో అని నాన్నగారు అడగడం గురించి రాయానా, లేక హరిదాసు కాని, గంగిరెద్దులు వాడు వస్తే అమ్మ ఇచ్చిన బియ్యం వాళ్ళకి ఇచ్చెస్తే వాళ్ళు త్వరగా పక్కంటికి వెళ్ళిపోతాడేమోనని, పక్క గూట్లో దాచేసే సరదా గురించి రాయనా !!. ఎంత రాసినా తరగని జ్నాపకాలు, సంతొషాలు.

ఇవి అన్ని ఒక ఎత్తు అయితే, చిన్నా రావు tailor తొ గోడవ పడడం ఒక ఆనవాయతి. మూడు జతలలో వాడు ఎప్పుడు మొదటిది భొగి నాడు ముందర రాత్రి 9 గంటలకు ఇస్తే, మిగతా రెండు రోజుల బట్టలు పండుగ నాడు ఇచ్చేవాడు. ఇలా అని ఇంటి దగ్గర్లో వున్న వాడికి ఇస్తే, అన్నయ్యది నాకు, నాది అన్నయ్యకు కుట్టేసాడు. చిన్నోడిని కదా, త్వరగా కొపం వస్తే, అమ్మ వాడి మీద వుత్తిత్తి కొపం చూపించి, అన్న గాడి షర్టుకి అసలు కాజాలే కుట్టలేదు అని చూపించి, నన్ను సముదాయంచింది.

పండుగ అన్నకా పిండి వంటలు లెకుండా ఉంటే బొత్తిగా మరీ బావుండదు. మూడు రోజులు మూడు రకాల sweets, మూడు రకలా కారాలు. పులిహోర, బొబ్బట్లు భోగి రోజు అయితే, గారెలు పరవాణ్ణం సంక్రాంతి నాడు. ఆఖరి రోజు, కనుమ నాడు పని వాళ్ళకు కూడా పెట్టడానికి, కొంచం ఎక్కువ మోతాదులో నే తయారు అయ్యేవి.

ఇంక గాలి పటాలు, పేకాటలు, వున్న మూడు సినిమా హాలుల మధ్య పరిగెత్తే జనాల గురించి రాస్తూ పొతే, ఇంకొ పెద్ద పండుగ వచ్చెస్తాది.......

సంక్రాంతి శుభాకాంక్షలతో

Do petrolling vehicles really act upon complaints

2006-02-05T23:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday while going from home to near by park, observed one Maruthi Baleno car. The car was going fast and swinging across the roads on multiple occasions. It was scary. I told my wife, these people are crazy or drunk. She said, they are having fun and she could see their heads are swinging along with car movement. Stopped by the petrol bunk and I see this car already there and all four guys in the car are drunk and talking blah blah at the bunk. One guy says fill the petrol for 200/- and other guy argues fill ti for 300/- "mama dabbulu levu raa" another guy screams. I was totally concerned about their behavior by watching previous driving visuals. Decided to do some thing. What !! complain to cops? Sounded better. I am not sure weather I have their number or not. While pulling out of the bunk, luckily I saw patrolling van going that side. Immediately followed that vehicle and told the incident while driving it self. They pulled over and I explained the situation. The cop in front seat reluctantly pulled some blank white paper and noted the number and hesitant to do what next kind of mode. I was looking in to his face, what are you going to do next. I was expecting him to take quick u-turn and act upon it. This guy coolly asks me "Are you sure they are drunk?". I said yes. They U-turned the jeep to go that side and I could see same car zipping thorough in front of us. Again I called cop and indicated this is the vehicle which I was talking. In that narrow road, they have to u-turn again. Funny thing is this cop again stops in front of me and asked. "What do you want me do? give them a ticket?" .... I was puzzled, what should I say. I told him, make sure that car is out of road before it creates some life in to danger. Then finally he picked up the wireless set to inform others. Not sure what happened latter and I left the place. Last night it was lingering on my mind, did they catch him or not. or some body hurt due to these stupid drunken drivers. .....

Do not miss the class; and the New Car

2005-08-29T02:28:00.000-07:00

After one week gap, went to class. Oh my God !! Management accounting subject felt like French and Latin. Took some time to catch up the class. Have to go through lot of stuff before I feel comfortable.

This time also target should be 100.. .... Can I do it...? Yes I can. (else !!!, what !!! nothing, Aim high is the motto)

A new car came in into our lives after a gap of 3 years. Since left US, I miss my Camry. Now got another babe Fiat Petra. Hugh !! Petra !!, what is it? could see lot of question marks on diffrent faces when I announced. Ofcourse I knew about it. Some may think that I took risk. My instinct always says " go for good one which you like it". Problem junta point is A.S.S (After Sales and Service). Immedatiately question pops in my mind is, when one buys a good product, should they be worried much about service? May be I am wrong, but good technology and reliable products will never get a chance to visit for repair shop any time. Family is happy and liked the moon mist grey color (why do they put adjectives before colors, they looks similiar to me always) . Still scared to drive in traffic, common' buddy you do not get US highways in every part fo the world. Sit like 'raja' when driver drives. Kewl.